This campaign is helping CZULENT raise the final $10,000 needed for a project to print and distribute two new volumes of children's poems and stories for at least 1000 Jewish families throughout Poland.

Czulent Jewish Association was established in 2004 as an independent association of young Jews in Krakow. Members have different interests and views but share the belief that Jewish identity is something precious that needs to be nurtured and strengthened. The foundations of the association are: pluralism, diversity, openness and tolerance.

Czulent sponsors many programs, but this campaign is focused on helping them raise the final $10,000 needed for a project to print and distribute free of charge two new volumes of children's poems and stories for at least 1000 Jewish families throughout Poland. One volume will focus on Jewish Holidays, and the other on the Yiddish Alphabet.

Extending the success of an earlier volume published in 2010, they will introduce the children (and their parents) to the spiritual values of Judaism and the history of the Jewish people. The authors were prominent writers of Yiddish literature in Poland in the interwar years. The books will be published in the original Yiddish and in Polish.

Poems will help the child explore the Jewish world and to shape new ideas and concepts about Judaism. Through rhymes that are read aloud, children will learn Jewish terms, contributing to an overall picture of Jewish life, and will learn phrases and definitions in a fun and enjoyable way.

A companion website to the books also will be created. In addition to presenting the text, it will include interactive games (Flash format) which will serve as educational tools in learning basic sentences in Yiddish.

Lastly, an audio book will be produced a few months after publication of the print editions.

This project already has received over $10,000 in support from the JDC-Poland, the Taube Foundation, the Association of Jewish Communities in Poland, the Polish Ministry of Administration and Digitization, and the Dutch Jewish Humanitarian Fund. The matching funds we raise will be the critical final piece of the budget to make this project a reality.

At this time of Hanukkah 2012, what could be a more compelling Hanukkah gift (perhaps in-honor or in-memory of someone dear to you) than a donation to make new Jewish books come alive for a new generation of Jewish children in Poland?

Every $18 you contribute will nearly cover the costs of printing and distributing a set of these two books, and will demonstrate your support for Czulent's related educational work in Krakow and throughout Poland in the coming year.

If by some miracle of Hanukkah we raise more than our goal, all funds will be distributed to Czulent in support of their other programs in 2013.

See the link below to Czulent's English language website to learn more about this extraordinary organization and the even more extraordinary people who lead and participate in its work.

Thank you, in advance, for your support.

Click on this link to see the first Volume published in 2010

http://www.majse.czulent.pl/After the page loads, click on the various objects to navigate through the site. Click on the fellow sitting on the Letter "E" to see a PDF of the entire book. (You can turn off the music by clicking on the icon of the cat with a horn in the upper left!)

We are grateful for the partnership with our Fiscal Sponsor, Friends of Jewish Renewal in Poland whose core programs focus on educating individuals and helping them build Progressive religious communities throughout Poland.